History of Sedition Law
- Sedition law was introduced in the 17th century by English lawmakers. They believed that only good thoughts related to the government should survive.
- The law was drafted in 1837 by Thomas Macaulay, a British historian but was omitted when the Indian penal code was enacted in 1860.
- In 1870, it was inserted by an amendment introduced by sir James Stephen when there was a need. The increasing Wahabi movement led by Syed Ahmed Barelvi between 1863 and 1870 forced them to bring sedition.
- It was majorly introduced to suppress the freedom struggle.
- The law was used against Bal Gangadhar Tilak and Mahatma Gandhi in 1922.
- In the 19th and 20th centuries, it was used against Indian political leaders involved in freedom struggles.
- Currently, sedition is a crime under section 124A of IPC.
- In the 1962 Kedar Nath Singh case, the supreme court upheld the validity of the sedition law. But it restricted the scope of misuse,
Sedition Law (Section 124 A) in India
Sedition law came into the news after the supreme court’s direction for the center and state to keep all the pending trials, appeals, and proceedings related to section 124A of the Indian penal code on hold. The Supreme court directed the central government to reconsider and re-examine the provision. The 152-year-old sedition law is suspended till the government reaches a possible solution for the supreme court’s direction.